The Justice Department has taken the first step toward possibly appointing an independent counsel to investigate the Bush Administration's presidential campaign search of State Department files for material damaging to then-candidate Bill Clinton, government officials said Thursday.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would make it easier for people to share their video viewing habits on Facebook, even as it failed to take action on a broader email privacy law. The amendment to the Video Privacy Protection Act would allow companies like Netflix to obtain a blanket consent from consumers before sharing information with their Facebook friends about what movies or TV shows they're watching. It updates a 1988 law enacted in the wake of Judge Robert H. Bork's contentious Supreme Court nomination hearings, when a weekly newspaper in Washington, D.C., published the judge's video rental history.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a California pilot who tried to hide that he was HIV-positive cannot sue for emotional distress after two federal agencies shared the man's medical information. In a 5-3 opinion , the court's conservative majority upheld the federal government's immunity from liability for a person who claims mental anguish or emotional distress, but who suffers no damage, such as loss of income. The decision reverses a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that had struck down a ruling by a lower court in San Francisco.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a California pilot who tried to hide that he was HIV-positive cannot sue for emotional distress after two federal agencies shared the man's medical information. In a 5-3 opinion , the court's conservative majority upheld the federal government's immunity from liability for a person who claims mental anguish or emotional distress, but who suffers no damage, such as loss of income. The decision reverses a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that had struck down a ruling by a lower court in San Francisco.

In the second debate, Bill Clinton showed why he will become the next President. He is completely in tune with how Americans feel, how deeply we hurt and how much we are suffering as a result of the Reagan/Bush/Quayle legacy. The best part is he cares! George Bush still doesn't get it. The Bush campaign has used every smear tactic in the book and guess what? It's not working! Of course, Bush can't stand on his economic record. But using the State Department to investigate Clinton's travels to Norway and Russia?

While the Clinton administration is pressuring companies with Internet sites to respect the privacy of surfers on the World Wide Web, a survey found the government itself is far from perfect regarding this issue. Almost half of the 70 Internet sites run by federal agencies collect data about visitors, but most disclose nothing about how the information will be used, according to the survey being released today by OMB Watch.

An internal investigation by the Defense Department has concluded that two Pentagon officials violated the privacy rights of Linda Tripp, the employee who instigated the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal, when they released details from Tripp's confidential personnel file two years ago.

More than half a century ago Justice Louis D. Brandeis was worried about the invasion of privacy of American citizens. He said, "The makers of our Constitution . . . conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone--the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men." Brandeis looked on government as the chief source of the danger.

Re "Is the FBI investigating Delgadillo?," Opinion, Aug. 20 In his article criticizing the FBI's practice of "refusing to confirm or deny" the existence of pending investigations, Times columnist Tim Rutten fails to appreciate the logic behind this long-standing policy. The policy exists not, as Rutten seems to suggest, to stonewall a free press or to keep information from the public, but to preserve the integrity of ongoing investigations and/or to mitigate prejudice to subjects of investigation -- subjects that may or may not ultimately be charged with a crime.

Re "FBI and CIA: Open Up," editorial, July 21: On April 17, 1995, President Clinton signed Executive Order 12958 on classified national security information. The executive order expressly allowed for agency heads to exempt from automatic declassification any specific files where the release of information contained in that series would almost invariably violate a statute. The wholesale release of information by the FBI would inevitably violate provisions of the federal Privacy Act of 1974.

Walt Disney Co. has agreed to pay $3 million to settle charges that online virtual worlds once operated by its Playdom games division violated federal rules designed to protect the safety and privacy of children younger than 13 on the Internet. The Federal Trade Commission charged that several sites, including one online virtual world targeting children called Pony Stars, illegally collected and disclosed personal information from thousands of children, in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Some 821,000 children registered with Pony Stars from 2006 to 2010, according to the FTC. An additional 403,000 children provided their information to some of the 19 other virtual worlds operated by Playdom, including 2 Moons, 9 Dragons and My Diva Doll.

The White House nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration gave Congress misleading information about incidents in which he inappropriately accessed a federal database, possibly in violation of privacy laws, documents obtained by the Washington Post show. The disclosure comes as pressure builds from Democrats on Capitol Hill for a quick January confirmation of Erroll Southers, whose nomination has been held up by GOP opponents. In the aftermath of an attempted airline bombing on Christmas Day, calls have intensified for lawmakers to install permanent leadership at the TSA, a crucial agency in enforcing airline security.

Re "Is the FBI investigating Delgadillo?," Opinion, Aug. 20 In his article criticizing the FBI's practice of "refusing to confirm or deny" the existence of pending investigations, Times columnist Tim Rutten fails to appreciate the logic behind this long-standing policy. The policy exists not, as Rutten seems to suggest, to stonewall a free press or to keep information from the public, but to preserve the integrity of ongoing investigations and/or to mitigate prejudice to subjects of investigation -- subjects that may or may not ultimately be charged with a crime.

An internal investigation by the Defense Department has concluded that two Pentagon officials violated the privacy rights of Linda Tripp, the employee who instigated the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal, when they released details from Tripp's confidential personnel file two years ago.

Re "FBI and CIA: Open Up," editorial, July 21: On April 17, 1995, President Clinton signed Executive Order 12958 on classified national security information. The executive order expressly allowed for agency heads to exempt from automatic declassification any specific files where the release of information contained in that series would almost invariably violate a statute. The wholesale release of information by the FBI would inevitably violate provisions of the federal Privacy Act of 1974.

A potential barrier to confirming the citizenship of voters in last year's 46th Congressional District election was lifted Thursday when federal officials gave Secretary of State Bill Jones the go-ahead to complete the verification process. Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner told Jones by letter that his office can proceed because remaining federal privacy concerns can be resolved about the use and disclosure of INS information.

The White House nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration gave Congress misleading information about incidents in which he inappropriately accessed a federal database, possibly in violation of privacy laws, documents obtained by the Washington Post show. The disclosure comes as pressure builds from Democrats on Capitol Hill for a quick January confirmation of Erroll Southers, whose nomination has been held up by GOP opponents. In the aftermath of an attempted airline bombing on Christmas Day, calls have intensified for lawmakers to install permanent leadership at the TSA, a crucial agency in enforcing airline security.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would make it easier for people to share their video viewing habits on Facebook, even as it failed to take action on a broader email privacy law. The amendment to the Video Privacy Protection Act would allow companies like Netflix to obtain a blanket consent from consumers before sharing information with their Facebook friends about what movies or TV shows they're watching. It updates a 1988 law enacted in the wake of Judge Robert H. Bork's contentious Supreme Court nomination hearings, when a weekly newspaper in Washington, D.C., published the judge's video rental history.

While the Clinton administration is pressuring companies with Internet sites to respect the privacy of surfers on the World Wide Web, a survey found the government itself is far from perfect regarding this issue. Almost half of the 70 Internet sites run by federal agencies collect data about visitors, but most disclose nothing about how the information will be used, according to the survey being released today by OMB Watch.

The Justice Department has taken the first step toward possibly appointing an independent counsel to investigate the Bush Administration's presidential campaign search of State Department files for material damaging to then-candidate Bill Clinton, government officials said Thursday.